RE: Oldboy Tin

A1books.com has it for $26.69: http://search.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mk..._ID=1938468701

I ordered one a few months ago.

Now Grady Hendrix is listing it as a rumour for now but he's reporting that Tartan UK may also be closed...

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/kai...RTAN-UK-CLOSES

I hope they stay open long enough to release the Korean films they announced on blu-ray.

Hendrix has now added a response to his own article stating that the rumour is now fact, and that more info will be forthcoming later today.

Part of me can't help but think this was inevitable, and may befall other U.S. distributors of Asian cinema. The stuff's just too easy, and much much cheaper, to import online when its first released than to wait for western companies to trickle it down to us. I'm sure that's not the sole reason for Tartan's woes, but it's gotta be a contributing factor.

More details from the Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...a1b531e340e9d2

and Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=19&cs=1

.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread the market simply isn't good enough for quite a few of the small distribs (SODA Pictures is another candidate). I also expect to see further restructuring and perhaps terminations where a few US-based companies will be affected.

Pro-B

Hey, it was a good run for most of 'em. But the market has changed. It's only sad because there are so many more titles out there to discover, and rediscover, and soon there just won't be the interest, or the money, to be able to do anything with them. Except import, of course. ;)

Here's a few of my favorites:

A Tale of Two Sisters
Phone
AB-Normal Beauty
Doppleganger
Koma
A Snake of June
Whispering Corridors

More causes for concern:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6421/sscu9.jpg

Pro-B

A friend of mine said there's a new company starting up that will be fairly similar to Tartan. He's not 100% sure of the name but thinks it might be Boarding House or something House. Anyone hear of this?

It´s a shame that "art house" movies have such a tough time at the cinema - let alone on DVD.

I get so tired af of mainstream movies as one can always figure out what´s going to happen - before it happens - as they are always are written the same 3-act structure.

I love to watch sofisticated, foreign, indies etc. etc. If these movies will be narrowed on the DVD market, then the world is going the wrong way. And that is very sad.

Thanks for that link. I was unaware of the developments at Artificial Eye, which no offense to anybody, matters much more to me than Tartan does.

Yeah, now that I think about it, I used to buy a bunch of other region dvds of the more obscure movies. Maybe at a rate of 2 a month, about 3 to 5 years ago - now, I might buy one for the entire year.

You should definitely look into their July/August releases. I have every single disc pre-ordered as they have an outstanding line-up. I am not quite so sure what would happen in the Fall. I doubt they will follow up Tartan but if they begin to change their focus I would be very upset.

Pro-B

Palisades buys Tartan UK's library

These guys seem to have a pretty ambitious business plan. I hope they can pull it off.

And re: the January article on Artificial Eye PB linked to a few posts back -- Beeson and Engel have formed a new company (New Wave Films) and scooped up a decent handful of titles at Cannes, namely Three Monkeys, Lorna's Silence, 24 City and Adoration. (Artificial Eye got The Class, O' Horten, Waltz With Bashir, Il Divo, and Ashes of Time Redux.) So it's not all bad news.

Cool news all around!

Additional info from AVManiacs:

PALISADES MEDIA CORP ACQUIRES THE MAJORITY OF TARTAN FILMS’ UK LIBRARY ASSETS
Not long after purchasing Tartan’s US library of world-renowned and often controversial feature-length independent films, Palisades Media now owns the majority of the illustrious parent company’s film library assets as well, as was announced today by Palisades co-manager Kevin Burns.

Established over a quarter of a century ago in the UK, Tartan Films and Video was the longest-running and leading independent UK DVD & Blu-ray distributor in the world. Known for its diverse range of intelligent and cutting-edge films, Tartan’s critical and commercial successes included BLACK BOOK, FAST FOOD NATION, THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, THE PROPOSITION, SECRETARY, MYSTERIOUS SKIN, and many more. The library also features Tartan’s “Asia Extreme©” line of horror films, some of the best and most twisted cinema from the Far East, including such cult favorites as the 2004 Cannes Grand Jury Prize Winner OLDBOY and Kinji Fukasaku’s incomparable BATTLE ROYALE.

“There’s no denying Hamish McAlpine (former owner of Tartan Films) had a brilliant eye for cinema. He amassed and distributed an extraordinary amount of thought-provoking and avant-garde films in three continents no less, and exposed audiences world-wide to some really remarkable and astonishing work,” said Burns. “We are thrilled to own the rights to the majority of both Tartan libraries and look forward to giving these films the kind of treatment they deserve and the attention that fans of independent cinema will truly appreciate.”

Palisades hopes to start releasing new titles this winter in the US beginning with a host of Asia Extreme titles. The next month will feature a diverse slate of independent films. Boxsets, 2-packs and blu-rays are also in the works. All upcoming UK releases are still TBD.


ABOUT PALISADES PICTURES

Palisades Pictures was founded more then a decade ago as a production and film finishing-funds company with the mission to empower, both financially and creatively, independent distributors and filmmakers to reach the widest possible audience with their films. In 2002, under the guidance of Vincent Roberti, Palisades Pictures financed its first theatrical P&A campaign for MORVERN CALLAR. Since being named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2003, Mr. Roberti transformed Palisades Pictures’ focus to Print & Advertising financing. From film studios (THINKFilms, Magnolia Pictures, First Look and Wellspring) to cable channels (HBO / Cinemax TV and The Sundance Channel), Palisades has quickly amassed a vast and impressive list of entertainment clientele. Notable films include TEN BENNY and RESTAURANT, both starring Adrien Brody prior to his Academy Award-winning performance in THE PIANIST; the powerful drama CHRYSTAL, starring Billy Bob Thornton; and SCHIZO, a stark and powerfully moving coming-of-age tale set in Kazakhstan.

http://www.avmaniacs.com/blog/2008/d...ibrary-assets/

Yeah, that's the ticket to success right out of the gate! More of what helped kill the previous distributor. ;) All things considered, they've picked up a lot of middling titles in this deal, from both the U.S. and U.K. Perhaps some Asia Extreme Double Feature DVDs might be wise? Or triple features?

"Asia Extreme".

What a stupid name for a brand. :rolleyes:

But . . . but . . . it's Asian. So therefore it must be extreeeeeeme! :rock2: